Reformed SHEology

H ave you ever lied? Ever stolen anything? You may recognize these questions as part of The Way of the Master , an evangelism method made popular by Ray Comfort's ground-breaking book, Hell's Best Kept Secret (HBKS), which focuses on effective, biblical evangelism through the use of God's law, The Ten Commandments. In the book, Comfort observes that 80-90% of those who initially make a profession of faith in Christ eventually fall away, because they were never given the true gospel to begin with. Comfort observes that in prior centuries, preachers like Charles Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards would openly issue warnings of the consequences of sin using a four letter word that began with the letter H. But in the modern church, the mention of "hell" is avoided for fear that it will seem offensive to the sinner. So the modern gospel is reduced to three words: "Jesus loves you." With no clear understanding of what sin is and why they will be punished for it,

G od has blessed me so much through the creation of this blog. It is hard to believe that a year ago I was steeped in anger, and when I consider how God has taken my sin and turned it into this website, I am just speechless. And not 24 hours ago, one of our readers, Natasa of Croatia , asked permission to set some of my words to a music video. The following is taken from Helper By Design , one of the very first posts ever published on Reformed SHEology: This is just beautiful! Never in a million years would I have thought that this blog would have such an impact on so many people, myself included. I just wanted to take a brief moment to extend my thanks to Geraldine for offering her insights to this site as a wife and mother, and to our readers (both of you). Okay, I'm just kidding. I know there are more than two people who read this blog. But seriously, I just wanted to take a moment to genuinely thank each one of you who reads the posts and/or has left encouraging words for

R odney Dangerfield is known by millions as the comedian who coined the catchphrase, "I don't get no respect!" Dangerfield's comedy act was basically a series of snappy, self-deprecating one-liners which often illustrated the type of reactions he solicited from women: "I could tell that my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio. When I was a kid, I asked my Mother for a Bubble Bath, so she brought the water to a boil! I'm so ugly - My mother had morning sickness. After I was born. Are you kiddin'? I know I'm ugly. My mother breast-fed me through a straw. I have good-looking kids. Thank goodness my wife cheats on me. The other night I told my kid "Someday, you'll have children of your own." He said "So will you." I tell ya when I was a kid, all I knew was rejection. My yo-yo, it never came back. I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous—everyone hasn't m

W ith this month on Reformed SHEology focusing on 'Man and Masculinity' and today being fathers day it only seems appropriate to post an article focusing on fatherhood. But as i prayerfully contemplated on what to write it came to me that this post would be a perfect opportunity to focus on THE Father, God. Following is a wonderful piece written by Thomas Watson (1620-1686), taken from his exposition on the Lords prayer. I love his style of writing! In everything he writes there is such beauty and yet simplicity for a writer of his time. I highly recommend his works which can be found freely Here. He is the best Father Wherein does it appear that God is the best Father? (1) In that he is most ancient. ‘The Ancient of days did sit.’ Dan 7: 9. A figurative representation of God, who was before all time, which may cause veneration. (2) God is the best Father, because he is perfect. ‘Your Father which is in heaven is perfect;’ he is perfectly good. Matt 5: 48. Earthly fath

I love the film Pride and Prejudice! But I wondered why are Jane Austin’s novels so popular today? They have stood the test of time and are more popular than ever! But what has equally made me wonder is why, if the modern woman really is independent, strong, able to hold her own then why would she love such a film as Pride and Prejudice? Granted, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is a force to be reckoned with, and has a side women today can relate to. She is not afraid to speak her mind, refuse not one but two marriage proposals (practically unheard of then I’m sure) and in a society where women weren’t allowed to work and all inheritance goes to the male she wasn’t interested in marrying for the money. The answer, I believe, is the attraction seen in the conduct and fulfilment of the role of the man. I’m certainly no expert but I do know that the women in that era were squashed and they weren’t always treated with the respect due from men. But in characters such as Mr. Darcy we see the mas

T his little song is called, "The Man Song," but if you listen carefully, you will discover it is more a commentary on women than it is on men (I'd probably put the lyrics at a PG Rating ): "Anytime a husband starts to doubt himself as a man or feels that his manhood has been violated by a woman's expression of strength . . . it's her responsibility to figure out a way to adjust." -- John Piper Feminism claims that at the heart of its goal is equality among men and women, however, when we trace the history of feminism (starting with the Garden of Eden) we see that it is not a matter of equality at all, but rather, it is a matter of usurping control. While some may see the unbiblical philosophy behind feminism and instead opt in favor of egalitarianism, it must be noted that egalitarianism is equally unbiblical. An egalitarian view promotes the idea that we are all equal. The egalitarian philosophy therefore concludes that there should be no dist

W ith the recent release of a secular article titled, Death of the Masculine Man and this month's topic celebrating masculinity, I felt led to very briefly examine from a biblical perspective what it is that has left today’s man feeling as though he has lost his masculinity. The article was the result of "a study of the male psyche in Britain" and makes its observation over a span of 80 years. The results are very interesting in light of when women first began to protest for their right to vote, straight down to the feminist movement and modern day. As the article states; "An average young bloke in the 1920's and 40's considered himself to be masculine and was at ease with his role as stoic provider and protector" Even as late as the 40's men still considered themselves masculine. So what went wrong? In a nutshell ... man has gradually been robbed of his masculinity. Biblical Manhood It is interesting to note, at this point, that the article we

In January, I had stumbled across a fantastic article written by Elisabeth Elliot simply titled, “Femininity.” In this piece, she writes: “But what is this man, what is this woman? What are these elusive and indefinable but universally acknowledged qualities on which every culture and society has shaped its existence?” I thought she did a fine job of trying to explain the inexplicable, at least, far better than I could! So when we decided to examine the concept of masculinity this month, I certainly did not consider myself qualified to take on a task such as defining an equally elusive term. Instead, I sought the wisdom of John Piper. The following material has been excerpted from Chapter 1 of Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood : A T THE HEART OF MATURE MASCULINITY IS A SENSE OF BENEVOLENT RESPONSIBILITY TO LEAD, PROVIDE FOR AND PROTECT WOMEN IN WAYS APPROPRIATE TO A MAN’S DIFFERING RELATIONSHIPS. “Mature” means that a man’s sense of responsibility is in the process of grow

R ecently, one of our readers asked me, "What do you think about women wearing pants?" Anxious to write about some other issues surrounding biblical femininity, I originally told this reader that I'd save that for another time, but I've changed my mind and decided to write about it now. In light of all the discussion surrounding headcovering, it would not be fair for me to postpone writing about this topic as well, especially since it also relates to masculinity. I personally have never been convicted that pants are unfeminine or unbiblical. Perhaps that will change for me one day, but I currently don't see any biblical reason for women to be made to feel that wearing pants is wrong. From what I gather, the entire issue surrounds a mandate given in Deuteronomy 22:5, which reads in the NASB as follows: "A woman shall not wear man's clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your

T his month's feature film is The Best Years of Our Lives , a story which follows three American servicemen as they try to adjust to life after war. Hailed as a classic masterpiece, the film portrays the challenges and crises of masculinity in society, in the home, and in the mind. In spite of the many battles fought and won overseas, perhaps the toughest battle of all is a man's silent fight for respect. STATS Year: 1946 (Not Rated) Robert E. Sherwood (writer), William Wyler (director) Starring Friedrich March, Dana Andrews, and Harold Russell. Setting: Post World War II America. Seven Oscars including Best Director (Wyler), Best Supporting Actor (Russell), Best Actor (March), Best Screenplay (Sherwood), Best Music Score, Best Editing, and Best Picture. Content warning: Some scenes portray drunkenness. One plot line encourages the deliberate demise of a marriage that no longer seems to be working. This film also warrants a SEVERE KLEENEX ALERT. WHAT TO WATCH FOR 1